Eternal Devotion
by x-The Devil's Advocate-x
Summary: When his granddaughter, Maria, falls into the clutches of a fatal disease, Dr. Robotnik launches Space Colony ARK and Project Shadow as attempts to save Maria's life. Although neither of these creations will save Maria from her predestined fate, she may gain something much more important from the exploits. To her, Shadow isn't just a project - he's her everything. Maria/Shadow
1. Infected

**Hello to everyone who has bothered to click on this! :) I've wanted to write a Sonic-related story for a while and finally decided to start one since I'm having writer's block on my other stories. This will mostly be about Maria's and Shadow's relationship, which I think is pretty intriguing. This story starts back before Shadow was created and Maria is currently living with her grandfather, Dr. Robotnik. I actually haven't played many of the Sonic games so I apologize if some of the information in my story is inaccurate. Regardless, please read and toss me a review when you're done!  
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**Chapter I  
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I reach out and grip the handle to the door of my grandfather's house, ignoring the eyes of the children from school boring into my back as the bus takes off down the dusty street once more after dropping me off. My parents were taken ill by the Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome when I was a very young child. Incurable and deadly, my parents fought all they could but were eventually killed by the fatal disease. My grandfather, Dr. Gerald Robotnik, took pity on me and took me in as if I were his own child. Ever since then, I've lived in his care. In fact, I don't even remember my parents. The photograph of a smiling man with dark brown hair and a woman with twinkling blue eyes and golden hair on the coffee table in grandfather's parlor means nothing to me.

Grandfather is a very kind man and I don't mind living with him at all. He's the only family I've ever known save for my cousin, Ivo. Thankfully, I don't see Ivo very often. There's something that just seems off about him although I can't quite put my finger on what that might be. He resembles grandfather slightly with his tall figure, beady black eyes, and rotund middle. Personality wise, they seem quite different though. Although Ivo idolizes grandfather, he seems much poor power hungry than the kind elderly man I live with.

As I've mention, my grandfather is a doctor of science. His knowledge is very profound and although I don't understand much science myself, I know that grandfather has a lab where he works on his experiments and creations daily while I'm at school. I asked him to bring me to his lab before, but he told me that it's too dangerous for me and that a simple touch to the wrong machine could send the entire lab up in smoke. Immediately deterred, I never asked about going to the lab again.

Grandfather cares for me dearly and loves me as if I were his own daughter. I don't doubt that there is anything in the world that he wouldn't do for me. Grandfather is my best friend and my guardian. I can't imagine life without him nor would I change my life if I could. I like it here. This is where I belong.

Of course, there are some downfalls to living with a man known as a "mad scientist" at my school. The children there often mock him and in turn, mock me. Naturally, I come to his defense which just rises the amount of teasing I receive. It doesn't matter much to me though. Grandfather told me that the only reasons these children torment us is because his knowledge exceeds that of their parents and because grandfather's experiments scare them.

Mostly because of the teasing, I haven't been able to make any friends at school. Whenever I walk calmly down a hallway, the children nearby stop their animated chatter and turn to stare at me with wide, accusatory eyes. As I come closer, they huddle together in groups and whisper just loud enough for me to hear the insults they're pouring down on me and grandfather. I'm labeled as a freak at school, but that doesn't bother me much. In fact, I've learned to let all the insults reflect off of me. The only time an insult really hit me hard was two weeks ago.

I had been minding my own business and approaching chemistry class when I heard a pretty brunette girl named Anna whispering to her friends, "No wonder she lives with her crazy grandfather! After all, we all know that her parents were scientists as well and must have gotten themselves blown up by their own experiments!"

Typically, I ignore the hurtful comments, but in that circumstance, I stopped walking and turned to face Anna for the first time. In an even voice, I informed her, "My parents died from the Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Perhaps you shouldn't spread rumors that you aren't certain of."

Anna and the others in her group stared at me in astonishment and that was the end of our discussion. Lately, they haven't taken to insulting me as much, which is something I am grateful for. I don't particularly like school, but I go there without complaint because it is something that all children must do and grandfather says that school is a wonderful place where I can acquire much knowledge.

I think grandfather must be an even better scientist than most think him to be. Only last year, the government approached him with a request that he attempt to make immortality possible through his experiments. If he would agree to do this, the government promised to reward him handsomely. Surprisingly enough, grandfather refused the generous offer. He told me that his current projects were far more important to him and that he had no need for immortality. His goal in life is not to live for forever. Instead, he wants to work on the projects that spark his interest.

I turn the doorknob to grandfather's small yet cozy home and step soundlessly inside the doorway. From somewhere in the parlor, I can hear grandfather muttering to himself. A small smile crosses my lips as I take off my dark blue slip on shoes and pad through the plush carpet of the hallway to the parlor. Once inside, I see grandfather sitting on the burgundy couch with his head in his hands. Grandfather is tall and wears a white lab coat over black pants. He has his glasses planted firmly above his nose and his gray mustache always sticks out at all different angles. Grandfather has long since become bald, but his mustache remains.

Trying to coax him out of his incoherent mutterings, I cross the floor and sit down quietly on the couch next to grandfather. I place a small hand on top of his bony, wrinkled one and greet him, "Hello, grandfather. Was there trouble at the lab today?"

"What? Oh," grandfather jerks out of his reverie and whips his head around to face me. His stiff frown turns into a kind smile when his eyes fall onto my face. He wraps my hand in his and says, "Hello, Maria. There's been no trouble. The government has just been asking for me to search for a way to make immortality possible_ again_. The idiots just don't know when to stop! I told them no only last year, but apparently my words fell on deaf ears. I've told them no a second time, but they keep pestering me. Don't they see that I'm content to pursue my own projects?"

"It's alright, grandfather," I reply peacefully, stroking his hand reassuringly. "Nobody can force you into a project you don't want to do."

"You're very right, Maria," grandfather nods, relaxing slightly. "They can't force me into the project. If I have to say no a thousand times, then I will have to do so. Anyways, this conversation can't be very interesting to you. How was your day? Did you learn anything interesting at school?"

"Well, I did get my report card back," I admit, reaching down and opening my book bag. After rifling through it for a moment, I hand grandfather the crinkled paper and wait for his response.

Grandfather takes the paper from me and skims over it quickly. A proud smile crosses his face and he beams down at me, exclaiming, "It looks like I may have a future genius in my presence! All As on every single one of your subjects! That's very impressive, my dear. I couldn't be any prouder of you."

"Thank you," I reply quietly even though I'm inwardly jumping up and down at grandfather's praise.

"Your parents would be very proud of you as well if they could see you now," grandfather adds a bit more solemnly. He looks down and scrutinizes my face a bit closer before he asks, "Are you happy, Maria? I have tried very hard to make this place a home to you, but I know you still miss your parents."

"I don't, actually," I admit quite honestly. "I like it here with you very much. There isn't anything else I'd want except for maybe...oh, it doesn't matter."

"But it_ does _matter," grandfather insists, placing a finger under my chin and gently tilting my head up so that I'm forced to meet his eyes. "What is it that you'd like?"

I blush at the pettiness of my longing, but go ahead and answer, "I know it sounds silly, but what I'd like more than anything else is just a friend my own age, someone to talk to and someone who might listen to me. I'm not at all ungrateful though. You're my very best friend, grandfather."

"Hm," grandfather muses, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "Perhaps I could try and create a friend for you through an experiment. He or she would be the very best kind of friend. Would you like that?"

"Very much so," I nod eagerly, having found every single one of grandfather's experiments to have been very impressive so far. I'd love to see what grandfather could do with this possible future experiment.

Suddenly, a wave of tiredness flows over me and I yawn sleepily as I rest my head on grandfather's shoulder. Either school was extremely uninteresting or I'm not getting enough sleep at night because I almost fell asleep during my history class earlier. Luckily, I managed to keep myself awake, but now I find that I'm fatigued again.

"Are you tired, dearest?" grandfather asks me in concern as he strokes his hand through my shiny blonde hair.

"Just a bit," I reply, blinking sleepily as my eyes focus on the picture of my parents smiling at me from the coffee table. Their faces are so unknown to me. I wish that seeing them could spark some memory in the back of my head, but it doesn't. My head remains blank as I stare at the unfamiliar faces. A suddenly burst of curiosity spurs me to turn to grandfather and ask, "How did they die?"

"Your parents?" grandfather asks, his sharp eyes following my gaze to the picture frame. Grandfather may need glasses, but he never misses a thing. I nod and wait for the answer. Grandfather sighs and admits, "It was a very unfortunate thing when they were struck ill by the Neuro-Immune Deficiency Disease. Nobody has ever been known to survive from it. The illness makes its victims extremely exhausted and weak. It then takes over their bodies and eventually stops the beating of their hearts. Only when your parents fell ill did I see any point in possibly searching for a way to make immortality possible. However, by the time I thought about searching for immortality, it was already too late."

I nod slowly, another yawn slipping out of the corner of my mouth. Having had enough of these depressing conversations, I urge grandfather, "Tell me something interesting about a project you're working on."

Grandfather's eyes immediately light up from behind his glasses. He takes much pleasure in knowing that his projects interest me. Tapping his chin, he says, "Well, I have started something new called 'Project Gizoid'. Have I told you about this yet?"

"No," I murmur vaguely, my mind drifting as I start falling towards the realms of slumber.

"I will tell you about it now then!" grandfather tells me, eyes bright and excited as he goes on to describe his project. "I have created a robot known as the Gizoid. The Gizoid can mimic anything it sees when it has enough power to do so. At the moment, I'm trying to find a power source that will give the Gizoid enough energy to work for hours at a time. Oh Maria, you_ are_ exhausted, aren't you? I see you're falling asleep."

"I'm sorry, grandfather," I apologize with a small smile. "I'm just so tired..."

"That can be expected after a long day of school," grandfather nods as if falling asleep at four pm is completely normal. "Now off to bed with you."

I try to move off of the couch, but every muscle in my body feels so heavy. Shaking my head, I reply, "I don't think I can get off the couch."

"You can't get off the couch?" grandfather echoes, his brow creasing and his bushy eyebrows knitting together at my words. "Well, I suppose I can always carry you to bed."

"Thank you," I murmur as grandfather picks me up and carries me tenderly through the hallway to my bedroom filled with posters of twinkling stars, distant planets, and the moons of far away planets. I've always been extremely interested in space and have wanted to go there if I ever get the chance. Grandfather says that maybe someday he will find a way to make my dreams come true. I have completely confidence in him. If anyone can make my dreams come true, it's grandfather.

By the time grandfather lays me down gently on my soft comforter, I've already fallen into a deep slumber. I can't hear a word as grandfather kneels besides my bed and clasps his hands in prayer as he whispers, "Oh god, please don't let little Maria have the same disease as her parents. I recognize the first stage of the disease. First comes the exhaustion, then the fainting, and then finally the eternal slumber. Please spare her this cruel fate. Amen."

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_Review please? :)  
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	2. Premonitions

**TheSupernova: Aw, thanks so much! Are you a Sonic fan at all? :)  
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**Emeraldsol: I'm so glad that you like this so far! I hoped this would be different than the other Maria/Shadow stories out there. I'm definitely planning on continuing this fic through until the end. I hope you keep reading! Your review is really encouraging.  
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**Alicia: Oh yeah, I love Sonic! You like Knuckles best? That's cool! Do you ship him and Rouge? I adore that couple! Shadow is my all time fav. :D  
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**LuluCalliope: Yay for Shadow! *cheers* Oh hey, guess what I found? Shadow plushies! I want one! Thanks, I hope this story is a little different than all the other Maria/Shadow fics that have already been written. And lol, I know! Eggman is the crazy one who has one too many screws loose, I think. Thank you so much for reading!  
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**Chapter II  
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Tick, tock, tick, tick. From what seems like miles away, I can hear the steady beat of my alarm clock from somewhere next to my bed. Usually, I'm able to leap right out of bed and run to my closet to find something to wear for school. Today, all my muscles seem weighted down. It's even hard to open my eyes. As I struggle to force my eyelids open, I glance around my bedroom and realize that it must be morning already since bright light is streaming through my windows and is dancing in strange patterns on my wall. It must be time for school

Rubbing my eyes sleepily, I pull myself into a sitting position, trying to ignore the amount of effort it takes to do such a small thing. As I slide out of bed and pad across the floor to my closet, I realize that I must have slept for a very long time. After all, I fell asleep around five pm last night and it's already morning. The strange thing is that I feel as if I haven't slept at all. I could easily turn around, curl back up in bed, and sleep for several more hours without any problem at all.

Knowing that school is important and that grandfather expects me to go even if I am a bit on the tired side, I reach out a hand and try to open the closet door. At first, the door will not budge. Normally, I open the closet door with ease. Frowning at the stubborn doorknob, I yank on it as hard as I can. This time, the door flies open and the force of it sends me stumbling backwards. My arms swing up and down as I try to keep my balance, but I end up toppling to the floor.

The world spins dizzily above my head for a moment or two. Using the bedpost to stand back up, I proceed to the closet and take out my bright blue dress from inside it. I must be getting sick, that's all. It's winter and people get sick this time of year. Last winter, grandfather wound up with a terrible cold. I was the one to help bring him medicine and ask how he was feeling. It only took him a few weeks to get over the cold. After that, he was as good as new.

I tug off my dress from the previous day and slip the clean one over my head. After that, I go to the mirror hanging above my nightstand and quickly brush through my hair before going to the door and stepping out into the hallway. I ignore my protesting legs and walk at a normal pace through the hallway until I reach the parlor.

At once, I'm surprised to see that the windows are open and that the sun is high in the sky. It has to be noon at least if not later. Where has the morning gone? I must have missed school. Oh no, what will grandfather say? Speaking of grandfather, there he is sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands. This immediately alerts me that something is off. Grandfather always insists on getting to the lab at nine 'o clock sharp everyday. I can't remember a time when grandfather let me skip school and didn't go to work.

I walk to his side and sit down on the couch next to him, asking in concern, "Grandfather, what's wrong? I'm so sorry I missed school."

Grandfather lifts his head and I'm appalled by what I see. His eyes are dark and bloodshot while his skin has turned ashen and waxy looking. Even his mustache seems to droop as he looks at me through sorrowful eyes. I feel as if someone important has passed away, but I'm unaware of just who this important person is.

"Ah, Maria," grandfather says, still looking at me out of miserable eyes. I see a wet droplet slip out from underneath his glasses. He wipes it away immediately and tries to keep his voice steady as he informs me, "We won't be going to school today. Instead, there's an appointment for you to go to."

"An appointment?" I echo curiously before I realize what an appointment will most likely mean. "Am I going to the dentist perhaps?"

"No, I have to take you to a doctor...a special kind of doctor actually," grandfather says grimly.

For some reason, his words turn my blood to ice. I'm not sure why his words bother me so much. I've been to the doctor several times before and although it's not my favorite place to go, I didn't hate it there. Tilting my head at grandfather curiously, I point out, "I just saw a doctor for my annual checkup last month."

"I know, but sometimes an illness can creep up on you overnight," grandfather says, his face much too serious. Usually, there's a twinkle in his eye or a smile edging around the corner of his lips. Not today though. Grandfather stands and offers me a hand off of the couch as he asks in concern, "Can you stand?"

"Why, yes," I reply, taking grandfather's knobby hand while I pull myself to my feet. It's almost as if grandfather knows about how tired I am. Frowning, I add, "Why _wouldn't _I be able to stand?"

Grandfather has never ignored any of my questions before, but he chooses to ignore me now. A sense of an ominous premonition rolls over me as grandfather takes my hand almost too tightly and leads me towards the door. On the way, he stoops over and picks up some scattered paperwork on the coffee table. Normally, I'd ask him what it's for, but I'm too apprehensive about what's to come to worry about it right now.

Grandfather whips open the door and the two of us step out into a frigid November day. The wind whistles in my ears and tears at my hair and at my dress. I brace myself against the wind and practically have to run to keep up with grandfather's long strides as we reach his dark green car. It's such a dark color that it looks black from a distance. I sit in the back as always and am still working on fastening my seat belt when grandfather pulls the car out of the driveway with surprising speed. I don't think he's ever driven this fast before. If I felt apprehensive before, I'm feeling downright panicky now.

As the familiar houses and trees whiz by us, I summon up the nerve to ask grandfather, "What kind of doctor am I going to see today?"

I can see grandfather's tense reflection from the mirror in the car, but when he speaks to me, he tries to speak gently, replying, "This doctor is going to run a blood test on you. I don't believe you've had to have any blood drawn in the last few years. You don't need to worry though. There will be one prick, but then the pain will be over."

"Oh," I reply, not seeing the sudden urgency to have a blood test done. It doesn't sound all that awful though. Perhaps my worry is for nothing.

Only minutes later, grandfather parks the car in a large, almost packed parking lot. When I step out of the car, my jaw falls open as I gaze up at the building in front of me. It towers above my head and in order to see the top of it, I have to crane my neck. I read the big, bold letters above the doorway to the imposing building and see that it says "St. Mary's Hospital". I've never been to a hospital before. Grandfather has always brought me to a little doctor's office much closer to our home.

After seizing my hand once again in an iron grip, grandfather marches me across the busy parking lot to the imposing entrance of the hospital. We step inside a very large waiting room with high ceilings. The first thing that comes to my mind when I see the room is_ cream_. Everything is cream. The walls are cream, the chairs are cream, and there's even a cream rug on the floor. I start to follow grandfather over to the woman standing behind the desk on one side of the room, but he stops me.

Pointing to the chairs, grandfather says, "Go ahead and sit down, Maria. I'll be with you in just a moment."

I've never been one to debate grandfather's decisions and nod obediently as I drag my feet over to the chair closest to me. After the short walk from the parking lot to the waiting room, I'm feeling exhausted again. I wait patiently for grandfather as he speaks to the tall brunette lady behind the desk. A moment later, he returns to my side and sits next to me before pulling the paper work from earlier out of his pocket.

My eyes flick over to the wrinkled papers in curiosity and I ask, "What's that for?"

"Ah, it's nothing important," grandfather says hastily before making a move to conceal the papers for me. Just before he hides them, I notice "The United Federation" written on one of them. Isn't the United Federation the group that would sponsor grandfather to search for a way to make immortality possible?

My head is still spinning with questions when a door to the waiting room opens and a woman with graying hair dressed in white smiles and calls out my name, "Maria Robotnik?"

Grandfather gives me an encouraging nod. I shyly get up from my chair and cross the room to where the woman waits for me. She seems kind enough and motions for me to follow her as she says, "Right this way, Maria. It looks like we're going to do a simple blood test today. It won't take long. In fact, you'll have your results to the blood test before you leave here today."

"That's nice," I reply politely as the woman turns a corner and leads me into an unoccupied room. "What am I being tested for?"

Just like grandfather from before, the woman pretends not to hear my question and instead motions me into the chair in the center of the room, saying, "Sit here please. You may want to look from the needle. It will hurt for only a moment."

I nod and decide to follow the woman's advice. When she stretches out my left arm and searches for one of my veins, I avert my head and think of something happy to distract myself. I start wondering if grandfather has planned how to make a friend for me with his experiments yet. He did promise yesterday that he would give it a try. How wonderful it would be to have a true friend...

Ouch! I wince for a second as I feel the needle pierce my skin. Unable to help it, I turn my head to the left and watch with a strange fascination as the woman fills a small vial with dark red blood. After that, she immediately withdraws the needle from my flesh and places a band-aid over it to terminate the bleeding. Grandfather was right; my arm doesn't even hurt anymore! That was a lot easier than I thought it would be.

"Great job, Maria. Do you remember how to get back to the waiting room?" the woman asks me. I nod, knowing that it's just a few steps down the hallway to the place where my grandfather is still sitting with the mysterious paperwork on his lap. "You may go back there if you'd like. We'll bring the results of your test to you in just a few minutes."

I nod and walk out of the room as if in slow motion. I'm feeling tired again and am actually rather glad that I'm not at school. I doubt I would have been able to resist the temptation of falling asleep again. Luckily, the walk to the waiting room is short and I reach it in only a few moments. Grandfather is exactly where I left him except that now he is hunched over his paperwork and his brow is creased in concentration. Again, I feel a chill run down my spine. Something just seems so _off_.

"What are you working on?" I ask grandfather as I sit down next to him, hoping that he'll give me a better explanation this time.

"Just a project," grandfather replies, hastily tucking the papers away once again as he turns to look at me. The crease across his forehead doesn't disappear, but he smiles at me as he asks, "How are you feeling? Not too faint, I hope?"

"No, not faint at all. The prick only lasted for a second just like you said it would," I reply with a smile. I catch sight of the papers again and ask, "Did you change your mind about the search for a way to make immortality possible?"

Grandfather opens his mouth to speak, but then hesitates, knowing better than to lie to me. Finally, he admits, "Perhaps."

"What changed your mind?" I inquire, finding it curious that grandfather changed his mind about a matter he was so vehemently opposed to only last evening.

Before grandfather can answer, one of the doors leading to the waiting room opens and an unsmiling man with gray hair and matching gray eyes makes his way over to us. His frown deepens as he speaks the words the will ultimately change my life, "Mr. Robotnik, I hate to inform you of this, but it appears that your granddaughter has the Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome."

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_Review please? :)  
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	3. Hope

**TheSupernova: Poor Maria, right? And aw, thanks! That's a nice compliment. Do you know anything about Sonic at all? I'm curious if this story would make sense to someone who knows nothing about Sonic.  
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**Kayla: Aw, thank you so much! I think that if we knew each other in real life, we'd be really good friends since we have so much in common. I totally agree with you; Sonic is definitely one of the best games ever created. ^^ I love Shadow too, he's my all time favorite. I also like Maria though and I love the Knuckles/Rouge pairing. What's your favorite Sonic pairing? :)  
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**Suicuneluvr: Thank you! It's awesome to have a new reader. I can't wait to write the part where Maria and Shadow first meet. I'm guessing you're a fan of this pairing? Thank you for your review!  
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**Alicia: Yes, Rouge is so pretty! She's one of my favorite characters. :) Hm, well, I love Shadow's voice and he's so dark and mysterious. xD Do you support Maria/Shadow? Oh, and happy birthday! I'm sorry I can't be with you in real life to give you a gift. I promise I'll make up for it as soon as we meet someday. *hugs* How was your b-day?  
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**LuluCalliope: Lol, stupid marketing teacher spoiling our fun! Too bad I don't know her or else I could give her a piece of my mind since I'm not in her class. *grins evilly* I'm so glad you liked the chapter! And they're on ebay! Want me to send you a pic of one in our email? :) Thanks for reading!  
**

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**Chapter III  
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A long, tense silence fills the waiting room. Temporarily stunned, all I can do is stare at the man dressed in white with my jaw dropped. This can't be true! I can't really have the Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome! After all, I feel just fine. True, I'm a little more tired than usual, but that doesn't mean much. I look to grandfather and wait for him to tell this man that he _must _be wrong. Unfortunately, grandfather says nothing. His face is chalky white and his expression very grave. I have many questions, but they all meld together in a whirl of confusion inside my head.

Grandfather is the first to speak. He stands up on shaky legs and takes my hand, pulling me up with him. He nods at the man in gray and murmurs in a thick voice, "Thank you for running the tests."

Looking almost awkward, the man nods as grandfather takes my hand and starts leading me towards the door of the hospital. I follow him numbly, my heart beating fast in my chest and my mind still spinning around and around. Can this be true? Can I really have the Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome? It never occurred to me before that I might follow in my parents' footsteps and inherit the disease from them. Does this mean that I will end up like them? Am I going to _die_?

Too afraid of the answers, I keep my questions to myself as grandfather walks me quietly across the busy parking lot to our shiny black car. He opens the door for me without a word, his brow creased and his mouth in a thin, tight line. I don't dare speak, unsure what's going through grandfather's mind at the moment. He seems very upset, yet there's a glint of determination hidden behind the deep sorrow in his eyes. I have a feeling that grandfather is planning something.

The car ride home seems to last much longer than the original ride to the hospital. I still refrain from speaking, hoping that maybe I'm just caught up in a very bad nightmare that is about to come to an end at any moment. Clinging to this last hope, I pinch my forearm to try and jerk myself out of the dream. No matter how hard I pinch myself, I remain in the backseat of grandfather's car with fear running through my veins and turmoil still buzzing around inside my head.

Screech! The wheels of the car create the sound of nails scrapping against a chalkboard as grandfather brings the car to a sudden halt. Without a word, he unlocks the car doors and steps outside the car. While I fumble with my seat belt, he walks around to my side of the car and opens the car door for me. It's as if he's afraid that I'm too weak to open the door on my own. A shudder runs through me. Just this morning, I had a difficult time opening my closet door. It may not be much longer before I can't open doors at all.

Grandfather takes my hand tightly, almost too tightly, and pulls me up the driveway to the house. We don't even stop to remove our shoes at the doorway as usual. Instead, we go straight through the hallway to the parlor. I sit on the sofa next to grandfather and wait for him to speak. The silence that has formed between us is almost unnerving, yet, I can't seem to be the one to break it.

Finally, grandfather looks me in the eye for the first time since we heard the life changing news and speaks to me in an extremely compassionate voice as he whispers, "Oh, Maria, I wished that it would never come to this. I knew all along that the Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome is genetically passed on, but I hoped that it would skip you. I see that my hopes are futile now."

Since the silence has been broken, questions threaten to pour from my lips. I choose the most important one and blurt out in an apprehensive voice, "Am I going to die?"

"Not if I can help it," grandfather replies quickly, clearly already having thought about this quite a bit already. I feel my spirits lift in hope. If anyone can save me, it will certainly be grandfather. He digs out the papers in his pocket and shows them to me again, murmuring, "I take it that you remember these? I am going to take on the government's mission and try to find a way to create an immortal being. If I can figure out how to create an ultimate life form, I may be able to use that knowledge to help you."

"Thank you, grandfather," I murmur gratefully, touching his arm and looking up into his blue-gray eyes. "I know how much you didn't want to take on this mission."

"I will do whatever it takes to save you, granddaughter. I _will _save you," grandfather corrects himself in a firm voice, letting me know that he will not accept failure when it comes to this mission. "Unfortunately, some things are going to have to change. I will not be able to conduct my research for an ultimate life source here on earth. That is impossible with your condition. If you stay here, you will grow weaker by the day. It seems as if the only way to save you will be to take a little trip. You won't mind that too much, will you? I know you enjoy learning at your school, but I can teach you things instead during our time away from here. When I cure you, you can return to your studies and to the life you've always known."

I won't admit this to grandfather, but the truth is that I have never liked school all that much. I only go to please him and because it is what all children my age do. Learning things from grandfather will be much more interesting and exciting. In truth, this little trip of ours sounds like a desirable vacation to me.

"Where will we be going?" I ask grandfather curiously, no longer feeling as scared as I did a few minutes ago.

"Very far away from here. In fact, we will be leaving this planet altogether for a while. I have created a research facility called the Space Colony ARK. It is located just outside of the lab. I have meant to put it in orbit for a while now, but became distracted with other projects and never got around to it. The Space Colony ARK will be like a life support system to you. While aboard it, I'm quite certain that your illness will not get any worse. Are you willing to go to the research facility with me? It may be our only hope," grandfather admits, a trace of hopelessness in his voice.

"Yes, I'm more than willing to go. I believe that this may be an incredible experience. I've always wanted to travel into space," I murmur dreamily.

"That's my girl," grandfather smiles at me encouragingly, squeezing my shoulders as he rises to his feet and asks, "Can you go pack your clothes and then come find me? I have an important phone call to make and then we must leave for the lab as soon as possible. There really isn't any time to waste."

"Of course!" I tell grandfather, pushing myself off of the couch into a standing position. "I will go right now."

While grandfather goes to the kitchen to make his phone call, I ignore the protesting muscles in my legs and push myself through the hallway to my bedroom. The disease I've been infected with no longer scares me. Grandfather says that there's no way for it to take over my body so long as I'm on the Space Colony ARK. I really can't wait to see it. The Space Colony sounds very exciting to a girl like me who has done nothing special her entire life. All I've done is go to school and spend quiet weekends at home with grandfather. The Space Colony will no doubt have many interesting experiments going on inside it. I may even be able to help grandfather with some of them!

Once inside my bedroom, I go to my closet and am thankful I left it open earlier so I don't have to fight with the door again. After opening my drawers, I pick out a few of my favorite clothes, including my other blue dress and pink nightgown, and then pick up my hairbrush before walking back through the hallway to the kitchen.

It wasn't so hard walking from the hallway to my bedroom, but now it feels as if the hallway has lengthened before me. Each step I'm forced to take seems increasingly more difficult. My legs turn to jello beneath me. Biting my lip, I force myself to go on. Unfortunately, my body refuses to cooperate. I stumble and fall, clothes and hairbrush flying everywhere.

At the sound of my fall, grandfather comes running and immediately helps me back up, stroking the side of my face as he asks, "Are you alright, dearest?"

I nod breathlessly and lean against the wall as grandfather picks up my scattered clothes and hands them back to me. Once they're securely in my arms once again, grandfather scoops me up and hurries towards the front door. It's been left wide open and even now, grandfather doesn't bother to shut it behind us as he strides towards the car once again. Something tells me that we won't ever be returning to this cozy little house. My life is about to change forever.

Grandfather sets me in the backseat of the car and fastens my seat belt for me before he leaps into the front seat and starts the car. The engine groans in protest, but grandfather persists and pulls us out of the driveway at an alarmingly fast speed. My energy is draining fast and now I see the need for grandfather's hurry.

"Where is the lab?" I ask grandfather curiously as the trees, houses, and mailboxes turn into a blur of color outside my window.

"Not fat from here at all. In fact, we will be there in just a few moments," grandfather points out much to my relief.

Grandfather is as good as his word. Only a minute or two later, the car is rammed to a sudden stop and grandfather unlocks the car doors. Trying to prove to myself that I'm not as weak as I think I am, I unbuckle my seat belt on my own and step out of the car. My eyes widen as I catch sight of a huge research facility located behind a much smaller lab. This must be The Space Colony ARK. I could have stood and stared at the space colony for quite some time, but grandfather picks me up again and hurries me towards the research facility. It's a shiny gray color and is the shape of a half sphere. Strange bumps and grooves cover the exterior of the Space Colony.

After flinging the metal door open, grandfather sets me tenderly down inside the first room of the research facility and says, "Stay here. I will be back in just a moment. There's something very important that I must retrieve from the lab."

I nod and sit on the floor where grandfather left me while he hurries out of the research facility to the lab. Now all alone, I look around myself. Everything seems to be made of metal and steel within this strange room. There is a whirring sound coming from somewhere to my left. I notice an odd tank with a pink substance sloshing around within in to my right. There's a dashboard behind the peculiar tank with several different buttons on it. In time, I hope to know what everything here does.

Only a moment later, grandfather returns to me with several vividly colored, sparkling objects in his arms. I try to get a glimpse of what they are, but grandfather has them concealed from me to some extent. Could they be emeralds or some sort of jewels? Before I can ask him what they are, grandfather closes the door to the research facility shut with a loud bang.

"Are you alright, Maria?" grandfather asks me, his eyes full of concern. When I nod, he sighs with relief and says, "You'll be safest right here while I launch this research center out of the earth's orbit. I'll be back momentarily if all goes smoothly, which god willing, it should."

Grandfather hurries from the room and disappears into an adjoining room. He shuts the door behind him so I can't see where he goes. I know that there must be numerous rooms in this ginormous research facility. As soon as we've launched, I'm going to ask grandfather if I can explore for a while.

For a good five minutes, nothing happens. I start to think that grandfather must be having difficulties when there is suddenly an increasingly loud whirring sound from somewhere around me. The noise continues to get louder and louder. I can feel the research facility starting to vibrate and tremble underneath me. I stare around myself with wide eyes. Suddenly, there's an ear-splitting bang. The whirring sound stops and I can literally feel the research facility lift off of the ground and go blasting up, up, up...

For a few minutes, I feel a strange pressure all around me. Finally, it subsides and I feel light and free. I have more strength than I did moments ago and slowly get to my feet. As I stare curiously around myself, the door to my room whips open and grandfather appears with a triumphant smile on his face. He wraps me in his arms and exclaims, "We've done it! The Space Colony ARK has been successfully launched!"

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_Review please? :)  
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	4. Awe

**FrostChard: Oh my god, wow, I don't think I have gotten such a great review for a while now! I am so pleased to hear how much you like this story! I'm putting a lot of work into it and so you don't have to worry about me discontinuing it. I promise to try and update at least every other day or so. :) I did purposefully try to start the fic a while before Shadow comes along to help build the characters, especially Maria and Gerald. Please keep reviewing! Seriously, your review was really inspiring to me! Thanks!**

**TheSupernova: Thanks so much! Astronomy has always intrigued me. Are you interested in it too? And awesome! Let me know if this starts to get confusing to you. Hopefully, it won't though. ;P  
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**Hero Memory: Thank you! It's fun to write a different sort of story about Maria. I've always loved her relationship with Shadow. Are you also a fan of this pairing?  
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**Fan: Oh wow, your comment really made my day! I'm so happy to hear that you like this story so much! I tend to go a bit overboard with details, haha. I really want to portray all the feelings though and it's great to hear that those feelings are getting across to my readers. Please keep reading and reviewing!  
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**Kayla: Yay, it sounds like we love all the same pairings! Tails and Sonic make really good friends. Do you like Cream and Vanilla (the rabbits)? Or the Chaotix team? That's awesome that you're a huge gamer! Next to Sonic, I absolutely adore the Mario games. How about you? ^^  
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**WingedArcher1: I'm really glad you like the story so far! The topic of Maria's disease is rather depressing, so I'm doing my best to keep this story light. Is Shadow one of your favorite Sonic characters?  
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**Alicia: Wow, that's awesome! I really like the movie with the biker couple. xD Have you watched it already? And yeah! We're all going to go to Disney World together someday. :D Oh, you have to see a game with Shadow and Maria! They're such a cute couple. There should be some videos of them on youtube, I think. What x-box Shadow game did you play? It sounds really cool! Oh, and guess what? I'm going to write a Sonic fangirls fic! I was planning on pairing you with Knuckles. Is that good? :)  
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**Anony-Dudette: I'm definitely happy now! I'm so glad that you like the story and the descriptions. There's lots more to come! I hope you keep reading and reviewing. ^^  
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**LuluCalliope: I'll send you a picture of the cute Shadow plushie right after I post this! I'm going to guess you fell asleep since you're not on Skype. ;P And yeah...I'm not sure if it's good or bad news for Maria that she's now in space. Oh well, at least she gets to meet Shadow here, right? Thanks for reading!  
**

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**Chapter IV  
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For the first time since I learned of my disease, I feel completely worry-free and content once more. Now that the research facility has been launched successfully, what can go wrong? I'm not going to die and grandfather is going to come up with a cure for me. Sooner or later, the two of us will return to earth, but for now, I'm thrilled to be in a research facility with all kinds of fascinating projects and operations going on around me. I have a feeling that I can learn a lot more from this ingenious place than back at school where the subjects are dull and the lectures threaten to put me to sleep.

Throwing my arms around grandfather's neck, I exclaim in excitement, "I knew you could do it! You can do anything, grandfather. I already feel much better."

"Heh, well, I'm not sure about _anything_, but I am sure that I'm going to find a way to cure you," grandfather chuckles before his face turns solemn and he explains, "This facility will keep you well as long as the heal units continue to work properly. I'm planning to keep a steady eye on them at all times. They're the most important units in this entire facility right now."

"Heal units?" I ask curiously, my mind already wondering how this is achieved. "What do they do? How do they work?"

"It's all rather complicated. Perhaps it would be best if I showed you the heal units so you can see them for yourself. In fact, I really ought to give you a tour of the entire facility. Would you like that?" grandfather asks, raising a bushy eyebrow at me. At the prospect of going on a tour, I nod vigorously and grasp grandfather's hand, ready to go wherever he leads me. Grandfather smiles at my enthusiasm and leads me through the metal door in front of us, saying, "This is a very large facility and it is easy to get lost. If you ever get lost or need help of any sort, I want you to have this."

Grandfather leans down and unwraps my hand from around his. He turns my palm upwards and plants a beautiful blue gemstone within it. The light dances on the surface of the gem as I stare at it in wonder. Never have I seen such a beautiful, shimmery stone before. When I hold it in my hand, I can almost feel power emanating from somewhere deep inside it.

"It's beautiful," I whisper, completely entranced by the glittering object. Unable to tear my eyes away from it, I ask grandfather, "What exactly is it? Where did you find it?"

"It's called a chaos emerald, my dear," grandfather explains. "Its power is very great and it can do an unlimited number of things. You see, there are exactly seven chaos emeralds. When brought together, they can do extraordinary things. I believe they can create or destroy planets. However, even one of the emeralds on its own is a very rare and treasured thing. You must keep it safe, Maria. I may have to borrow it from time to time, but for now, I want you to have it."

"Thank you very much," I tell grandfather, still eying the emerald reverently. I wrap my fingers tightly around it and promise him, "I'll take very good care of this. I won't let anything happen to it."

"I'm sure you won't. You've always been exceedingly careful with everything that I've given you. Now then, take a good look around yourself. This is heart of the facility. All the doors surrounding you lead to different rooms with diverse projects going on within each of them. None of the doors are labeled since I have them all memorized from working here for so long. It will do you good to pay attention to what each door leads to. The door straight ahead of you leads to the healing units. Would you like to see them?"

I nod and follow grandfather as if in a dream, still trying to get my mind wrapped around the gigantic room that grandfather said is the center of the facility. The ceilings are very high and I have to tilt my head back and squint upwards to see them. The floor, walls, and ceiling all appear to be made of some sort of metal. There are strange markings on some of the walls and there are a few imposing machines located in the corners of the room. They have tanks connected to them, but it's impossible to see what's inside them since the tanks are also made of steel.

Grandfather pulls the metal door open silently and waves me within, murmuring, "Go ahead and step inside. Tell me how you feel."

I eagerly take a step inside the heal unit and gaze around myself, trying to take everything in at once. Before my eyes process the images before me, my body reacts to something inside the room. I immediately feel stronger and full of energy. In fact, I've never felt better! I could run a marathon right now or even go mountain climbing.

"I feel amazing," I tell grandfather, staring around myself in awe. "How does everything here work?"

There are portable, box-like devices stacked up all around the room. They look like steel bricks of some sort. In the center of the room is a large cannon. However, instead of frightening me, it intrigues me. I can tell just from looking at the cannon that it is used for good purposes.

"Well, to put it simply, each little brick here sends out energy that replenishes health. That explains why you feel more energized than you normally do. If you are ever feeling weak or sick, come to this room immediately and it will help you," grandfather explains before stepping towards the coal black cannon. He rests a hand on it and says, "This is the Heal Cannon. It fires shots that also replenish health in large bursts of energy."

"It's incredible," I whisper, completely astounded. I would never even have imagined that such a thing might exist.

I'm still looking around, but grandfather is already back out of the door and is waving me along with me. I follow him out of the door and back into the heart of the facility. This time, grandfather strides over to the door left of the door to the heal units and cracks it open before smiling and saying, "I think you might like this unit."

Wondering what it is that might be of interest to me in this unit, I run over to grandfather, my feet thudding lightly against the metal floor. As I stick my head through the now opened door, I catch sight of an orange and silver colored robot. Giggling, I ask, "What does he do?"

"This here is Project Gizoid, but we call him Emerl. Emerl is one of my projects that I'm rather proud of. He's a little robot who can mimic anything he sees when he has enough energy. I believe I told you about him the night you fell ill," grandfather says, his face falling grim for a moment.

"Hello Emerl," I greet the little robot, going over to him and shaking his little metal hand politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Would you like to give his powers a try?" grandfather asks, smiling at my antics.

"May I?" I ask with a sudden burst of hope. I didn't know that this was going to be an interactive tour!

"I don't see why not. As I told you before, the chaos emerald you are holding has lots of power. Simply stretch out the gem and say something to the robot. He should repeat it back to you or answer any questions you might have. I have been training him to answer questions and do several different things," grandfather explains.

Eager to give it a try, I hold the chaos emerald out in front of me and ask almost shyly, "Can you hear me, Emerl?"

Emerl's eyes suddenly open, exposing little pools of bright yellow light. He nods his head stiffly and replies in a very robotic, stilted manner, "Yes, I can hear you."

"He _does _talk!" I murmur in wonder, looking from grandfather to the curious robot, trying to imagine what grandfather must have done to create something so magical. Turning back to Emerl, I ask him, "What is it that you're being trained to do?"

"I collect energy, search for nearby planets, participate in experiments, am trying to find Black Do-" Emerl is suddenly cut off by my grandfather.

"I believe that's enough for now," grandfather says a bit too loudly as he takes my arm and leads me briskly out of the room, shooting Emerl a dirty look as he does so.

As grandfather leads me to another door, I wonder what it was that Emerl had been about to say that grandfather didn't want me to hear. I know that there must be secrets in this lab, but I don't know how many of them there are or if the secrets are relative small or immense and dangerous. Either way, I hope to learn them soon. Emerl had started to say "Black Do-". Whatever could that be? I try to rack my brain to come up with something that starts with those words, but nothing comes to mind. I know better than to ask grandfather about it, knowing he won't tell me the answer I'm looking for.

Opening the next door, grandfather explains, "This here is where I am attempting to create new species that may someday help our planet. In fact, the next several doors to your right all contain different forms of these species. I call them 'artificial chaos'. There are many different subspecies of them and they all look rather different and have diverse tasks they are being trained to perform. As of now, they have not reached their full potential. However, I would prefer it if you kept out of these rooms just in case they leap to their full power when I'm not around. I haven't been able to calculate how great their maximum power might be yet."

I stare at the artificial chaos, unsure what to make of them. The subspecies of artificial chaos in this room appear to be floating orbs of water with bright green eyes. They look like some sort of species of alien. Feeling a little apprehensive, I exit the room quickly, knowing that grandfather won't need to remind me twice to stay out of these rooms.

Once we exit the odd room containing the artificial chaos, grandfather comes to a halt despite the fact that there are still several more rooms that we haven't explored yet. He turns to face me with an almost wary look on his face as he admits, "Maria, dear, there's something I need to explain to you. We are no longer in the world you have known your entire life and so things are obviously different here. There are...outside forces that can be dangerous. There are also beings living in the cosmos that we must keep an eye on."

Trying to follow where grandfather is going with this, I ask, "You mean like aliens?"

"I suppose that's one way to put it," grandfather nods, stepping over to a door to our left and cracking it open just slightly. I gasp when I peer inside. Within the room is an unlimited supply of bombs that make my head spin. Before I can get too good of a look inside the room, grandfather shuts the door once more and says, "The bombs are here only to keep us safe if some of the outside forces decide to attack us. You needn't worry though. The bomb units will help keep us safe."

I nod slowly, making a mental note never to go into the bomb units. There are four more unknown doors left in the facility. Grandfather points to one of them that would be directly inside of the "nose" of the research facility and murmurs, "This door will always remain locked."

I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach just from looking at the unknown door. I don't ask grandfather what's inside it, figuring that if he doesn't tell me, then I don't need to know what is inside it. Little do I know that it's an extremely powerful weapon of mass destruction located behind the closed door.

Grandfather points to an identical metal door next to the one he just warned me of and explains, "This is the room in which I'm attempting to create an ultimate life source. My first attempt at this is going to create something called the Biolizard. It's still in the works and for everyone's safety, I keep this door locked as well."

"Alright," I reply, suddenly feeling a bit tired. It's been a long day and all these doors look exactly the same to me. I think I've forgotten which one leads to which project already. Unable to suppress it, I allow a yawn to slip out of the corner of my mouth.

Grandfather chuckles and points to the two remaining doors. Unlike the previous metal doors, these two doors have been painted a shiny eggshell white. Leading me towards them, grandfather says, "These are our rooms. Mine is the one to the left and yours is the one to the right. Perhaps you'd like to explore your room and then take a rest? It's been a very long day. Tomorrow, you can explore more if you'd like and you can even help me with some of my projects."

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_Review please? :)  
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	5. Failure

**FrostChard: No problem at all! I always reply to my reviewers if I have time, which I usually have, but with college courses, things get busy for me sometimes. And yay, I absolutely LOVE long reviews. They are my favorites! I was smiling the whole time while I read your review. It made me so happy to hear how much you like this story! Writing the relationship between Gerald and Maria is really fun because nobody else has really written about it, you know? And I'm really glad that you think my English looks good. I work very hard on that! It's so awesome to hear that you've already reread the chapters. I really hope you like this chapter just as much as you liked the last ones. :)  
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**TheSupernova: I agree! It sounds exciting and a bit dangerous, don't you think? Maria will learn more about what's behind the closed doors soon!  
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**Gloomy Shadows: Thank you so much for all the reviews! They really made my day. Can I just say that I'm in love with your avatar? It's awesome! And I love Shadira too. It's my favorite Sonic pairing. I also feel really sorry for Shadow. He's not at all evil and I know just how hard it is to be depressed. =/ I think he lost more than just a best friend when he lost Maria, you know? I hope you continue reading this! :D  
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**Zgirl16: That's such a nice compliment! I love Shadow too! I hope you like this chapter. ^^  
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**EvilChalkboard: Wow, thanks so much! This story is going to be all about Shadow's and Maria's past, so I hope you end up liking it. Shadow is my favorite character too. Yay for Shadow fans! Please keep reading. :)  
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**Charlotte: Oh, that's awesome! So you've played some Sonic games before? Sorry I haven't updated anything else lately, but my life has been really chaotic recently. =/ Thanks for reading!  
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**Arena Master No. 1: Thank you very much! There is lots more to come. Are you a Shadow/Maria fan?  
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**WingedArcher1: Thanks! I worked really hard on the references, which was a bit hard to do since the only Sonic game I've ever played is Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, lol! Silver is great too. I like him and Blaze a lot. Have you been a Sonic fan for long?  
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**Alicia: I want to play that game! Hehe, I'm not surprised you watched it three times. That's one of your favorite movies, isn't it? Yup, I'm ready to do another fangirls fic. I think it will be fun, don't you? :)  
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**Suicuneluvr: Yup, Maria got the grand tour of the Space Colony ARK! I'm so glad you're still reading this story. I hope you like this chapter!  
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**LuluCalliope: Wasn't the Shadow plushie adorable? I am so going to decorate my room with all kinds of Shadow things someday! :D Who knew there was so much Shadow stuff out there? xD Do you think we can talk on skype tomorrow? Thanks for reading!  
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**Chapter V  
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Even though I'd really like to continue exploring and learn all the ins and outs of the research facility, I know that grandfather is probably right about now being a good time to sleep. Besides, I'm curious to see what my new bedroom looks like. Will it be a replica of my old bedroom thousands of miles away on the planet earth or will it be completely different? When grandfather doesn't stop me, I step forwards eagerly and try the doorknob to my new bedroom. It swings open easily, allowing me my first view of my bedroom.

My eyes immediately widen to the size of saucers as I look around at the beautiful room before me. The walls have been painted pale pink and the floor is covered with soft carpet, not hard metal like in the rest of the facility. Posters of colorful nebulae and comets decorate the walls. Grandfather knows about my love for space. Of course, now I don't have to look at a poster to see the twinkling stars. I'm actually_ living _in space! To some extent, this is a dream come true for me. I only wish that we were on the research facility as a vacation and not because it's the only way to save my life.

The very best part of the room is the queen-sized bed in the left corner of the room. It's covered with a plush pink comforter and has several fluffy pillows arranged on one end of it. There's a sheer canopy hanging around the bed from the ceiling. Back at home, I only had a twin-sized bed. To me, this new bed looks enormous.

"This is all so amazing," I tell grandfather, unable to keep my astonishment to myself as I look around in awe.

"I'm glad you like it so much, my dear," grandfather says warmly, standing in the doorway of my bedroom and smiling in at me as I tentatively cross the room and place one hand on the bed. It feels so soft and comfy. I hop up onto it and then fall backwards into the comforter, feeling like an angel falling into a cloud. Grandfather chuckles and says, "I'll leave you to rest now. Sleep well, Maria. When you wake in the morning, feel free to explore or to find me. This is your home now and I want you to feel as comfortable here as possible."

"I do feel at home here, perhaps even more than I did back on earth," I admit truthfully. I feel like I belong up here surrounded by the shimmering stars and distant planets and galaxies.

"Good. I am very happy to hear that. Goodnight," grandfather tells me before shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

I lay on the bed for a few moments and stare up at the ceiling with a smile flitting across my lips. There are little glow-in-the-dark stars placed on the ceiling of this new bedroom just like the glow-in-the-dark stars I had meticulously placed on my ceiling back in my previous bedroom. Grandfather has done so much to make this place a wonderful new home for me. I can't help but wonder why he had prepared a bedroom for me in the research facility though. Perhaps he knew all along that there was a good possibility that I might have the fatal disease that my parents had. After all, it is genetically passed down.

Either way, I find that it doesn't matter to me. I'm content to be here in a whole new world surrounded by excitement and all these extraordinary experiments of my grandfather's. I wonder what he's concocting behind the locked doors, but I decide that maybe I shouldn't worry about them. I only hope that grandfather isn't creating something dangerous. He wouldn't do that though, would he?

As I think back to all the projects grandfather told me he was currently working on, I frown as I realize that he didn't mention the project of creating a friend for me. I know he is extremely busy right now, but I can't seem to get the thought of having my first real friend out of my mind. I would give anything to have someone to share the excitement of this whole new world with me. Perhaps I can hint to grandfather about this tomorrow if he's in a good mood. I don't want to act ungrateful though.

Sighing, I decide that the friend can wait and wriggle down between the silk sheets on my bed. It's a bit chilly inside my bedroom, so I pull my comforter up to my chin and then realize that there's no stuffed animal for me to hold in this bed. Back at home, I had a little black and white cat stuffed animal that my mother had given to me before she died. I had kept it in my bed for twelve years straight. It was more to me than just a stuffed animal. I miss having something to hold close to me while I fall asleep, but there's nothing I can do about it. Instead, I grab a wad of the sheets for something to hold onto and close my eyes. I'm so exhausted that it only takes me a few minutes to fall asleep.

The next morning, I wake up to find myself in my new dimly lit room. Yawning, I perk up in bed, feeling refreshed and ready for a day of experimenting and exploring. I slept in my clothes last night, so there's no need to change this morning. Without hesitation, I leap out of bed, smooth the front of my light blue dress, and forget to brush my hair as I hurry towards the door. What might grandfather be up to this morning? I'm going to go find out!

I crack the door to my bedroom open and step out into the heart of the research facility. The bright lights are on as usual, causing the metal floor and walls around me to glint and wink mysteriously at me. There's a faint whirring sound coming from underneath a door to my left. Wondering if grandfather might be in there, I try the door and immediately leap back from it when I realize it's one of the locked doors. Thank goodness it was locked! Who knows what I might have found in there?

Thinking that grandfather might be in his room, I turn to the other white door and knock quietly on it before stepping back and waiting for a reply.

"Come in," a muffled voice replies from behind the door.

I immediately twist the doorknob and step inside grandfather's room. This room is quite a bit different than mine although it still has a homey feel to it. Red carpet covers the floor and a bed smaller than mine with a cream duvet cover placed over it is in one corner of the room. On the opposite side of the room is a large desk with several scattered papers and a complicated looking computer-like system on it. The computer makes rapid clicking noises or maybe it's the keyboard creating the sound since grandfather appears to be rapidly typing something on it. Lining the wall opposite the door is a huge bookshelf covered with hundreds of books with all sorts of different covers. I've never seen so many books in one room before besides for at the library at my school.

"Are all these yours?" I ask grandfather in amazement as my feet absentmindedly carry me over to the bookshelf. I reach out and stroke a dusty red book spine with my second finger.

"Hm? Oh yes," grandfather replies as he looks over his shoulder at me and then returns to his fast-paced typing. After a moment's pause, he adds, "You can feel free to read any book on the shelf that you would like to look at. Most of them contain data concerning my research, but you may find them of interest to you. I would avoid the books on the topmost shelf though. Those books are a bit complicated and are even hard for me to understand."

"Thank you very much, grandfather," I reply, taking the book with the dusty red spine off of the bookshelf. Turning back to grandfather, I ask, "What will you be doing this morning?"

"I'm sending off an email to the government right now. They are the ones sponsoring this project and so they like to hear weekly updates from me. You are probably wondering how emails from this facility can be sent to earth. Well, it just so happens that I have three of the chaos emeralds with me right here. Using the power of the emeralds, I can send emails to just about anywhere," grandfather explains before pausing and adding, "I plan to work on the biolizard for a bit this morning."

"I think I will do a bit of exploring then," I reply to grandfather, remembering that he didn't want me around the biolizard project.

"Have fun," grandfather tells me vaguely, still focused on his email.

I step out of the room and close the door carefully behind me, making sure not to slam it shut. Only now do I bother to look at the title of the book I've chosen. It is called "Dark Forms in the Cosmos". I frown, unsure if I want to be reading about anything dark. Regardless, I stop in my bedroom and place the book on my bed. I don't want to return the book and bother grandfather again right now.

Next, I return to the heart of the research facility and try to decide where to go first. When I returned to my bedroom a few moments ago, I picked up my chaos emerald and am now carrying it along with me for safekeeping just like grandfather recommended me to do. As I gaze along all the identical doorways, I realize that I've forgotten where they all lead to. At this point, it seems that I'm just going to have to choose a random door to enter and see where it leads me.

Closing my eyes, I spin around in a circle and randomly come to a halt facing one of the unknown silver doors. Deciding that this will be the door I enter, I walk purposefully over to it and push it open. Ducking my head inside, I see none other than the little robot called Emerl within the doorway.

Happy to see someone I can hold a conversation with, I quickly step into the room and close the door behind me as I hold out the chaos emerald to transfer energy to Emerl and greet him, "Hello Emerl."

"Hello," Emerl replies, his mechanical head turning around to face me. In his stilted voice, he adds, "You are back."

"I am," I nod, sitting down on the floor, figuring that I might as well make myself comfortable. Gazing up at Emerl's circular glowing eyes, I ask him, "How are you this morning?"

"Fine," Emerl says succinctly.

This is when I realize that I unfortunately can't hold a real conversation with Emerl. He is just a robot and doesn't have human emotions. I won't be able to hold a normal conversation with Emerl no matter how hard I try. The only thing I will be able to do is get information out of him. This gives me an idea.

"Emerl..." I start out. "Can you tell me again what you are being trained to do in this research facility? You're searching for something, aren't you?"

"Yes," Emerl states in his robotic voice, not going into detail.

Crossing my fingers behind my back hopefully, I venture, "Can you tell me what you're searching for?"

"Black Doom and strong energy sources," Emerl tells me without hesitation.

Ah ha! So Black Doom was what Emerl had been about to tell me earlier before grandfather cut him off. Unfortunately, this doesn't do me much good as I have no idea what Black Doom is. Wondering if Emerl does, I ask, "What exactly_ is _this 'Black Doom'?"

"A dark form," Emerl replies.

"Do you know anything else about him?" I press, Emerl's single sentence not really telling me what I want to know about Black Doom.

"I know nothing more," Emerl says stiltedly.

"Oh," I reply, wondering how I might find out more information about this Black Doom. Suddenly, it hits me like a smack in the face. I can look in the book I borrowed from grandfather to see if there are any references to Black Doom inside it! Glad to have a plan, I starts towards the door and bid farewell to Emerl, murmuring, "Thank you for your help. Goodbye!"

I exit the Project Gizoid room and am starting over to my bedroom when I suddenly hear a bloodcurdling shriek from one of the locked doors. I come to an abrupt halt, wondering what could possibly be creating such a monstrous sound. There's a series of scuffling and banging noises from under the doorway. Hesitating, I wonder what to do. Is grandfather in there? What if he needs help? Should I do something to help him?

Before I can make up my mind of what to do, the door to the room comes flying open and grandfather hurtles out of it. From behind him, I see a huge, lizard-like creature hooked up to what I believe is a life support system. The beast appears to be going insane and is whipping its head back and forth menacingly. It can no longer make any noises because its jaws have been chained tightly together. In fact, the entire lizard has been chained down. I shudder and take a step backwards, wanting to get away from this monstrous creature.

Slamming the door to the horrid room shut behind him, grandfather locks the door and catches his breath. Giving me a rueful look, he admits, "It seems that the biolizard is a failure. The creature has lost all self control and I needed to chain it down. Unfortunately, it appears that I will have to try to create an ultimate life form using Plan B."

"And what exactly is Plan B?" I ask apprehensively, hoping that it is a better plan than creating some awful lizard-like beast.

Grandfather gives me a grave look and replies in two words, "Project Shadow."

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_Review please? :)  
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	6. Doomed

**Hello everyone! Thank you all so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews for this fic! I hate to sound like I'm advertising, but I started another Sonic fic called "Behind Amber Eyes" if anyone wants to check it out. That would be awesome. You guys are the best!**

**FrostChard:I wish there were more stories about Gerald and Maria too! I guess maybe that's a good thing though or else my story wouldn't be so original, haha. Wow, thank you so much for saying that you can tell I have a passion for writing! It's pretty much my favorite thing ever and I don't know what I would do without this wonderful website to post my stories on! :D I do try to update quickly. Yay for the good kinds of goosebumps! ;) I'm very glad that you like the descriptions. A friend of mine told me to try and paint a picture in my readers' head with descriptions. I try to do that! Thank you so much for the kind review. It really makes my day!  
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**Zgirl16: Oh wow, that's awesome that you're reading this story even though you don't like Shadow/Maria! I will make it my goal to help you to like it more, haha. Do you have a different favorite Shadow pairing? I hope you like this chapter!  
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**xXxTwilightxXx: Of course I remember you! Wow, it feels like forever since we've chatted. How are you? I'm so happy that you're reading this! Are you a Sonic fan by any chance?  
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**Charlotte: That's cool! Do you play on your game cube often? I just have a wii and although there are Sonic games for the wii, I don't have any of them. =/ Thanks for understanding. I've been so stressed out lately. How have you been? I'm so glad you liked the last chapter! Thanks for reading. ^^  
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**Sister of the Pharaoh: Shadow will be in the chapter following this one, I promise! I hope you keep reading this! Are you a Shadow fan?  
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**WingedArcher1: Shadow will be in the very next chapter. :) And that's cool that you've been a Sonic fan for so long! I wish I had been a fan for that long. What Sonic games have you played? I wish I had an x-box!  
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**Alicia: New fics are always fun! I'm having fun with my current Sonic obsession, lol. Hey, can you meet me on skype in about five minutes maybe? :)  
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**Suicuneluvr: Project Shadow has officially been announced! Guess what? Shadow will appear in the next chapter! :D  
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**LuluCalliope: Yup, I still have my internet and nothing too terrible has happened...yet. I'm feeling sick still but am otherwise okay (thank god). That was awesome how you uploaded two chapters today! I can't wait for tomorrow's chapter. You left off on a cliffie. ;P Thanks for reading!  
**

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**Chapter VI  
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Curiosity immediately flares up within me at the mention of Project Shadow. For some reason, I get a bad feeling when I hear grandfather speak the name of the project aloud for the first time. Project Shadow has a dark sound to it. I open my mouth to ask more about this Project Shadow, but then notice that grandfather has already walked away from me, muttering to himself. I bite back my question, knowing that it's probably best just to let grandfather be right now. He's upset about the failure of the biolizard and probably needs some time to think things over.

"Grandfather?" I call after him hesitantly, wanting to make him feel better if I can. "I'm sure Project Shadow will succeed. Do you need any help with anything?"

"Hm?" grandfather asks absentmindedly before thinking my words through and turning to glance over his shoulder at me. He sends me a wry smile and says, "No thank you, dear. I apologize you had to see the biolizard out of control like that. I'm sure it gave you quite a fright. Go ahead and enjoy yourself the rest of the day. I'm just going to talk to Emerl about a few things."

"Oh," I nod as grandfather disappears through the door that leads to Emerl's sanctuary. I have a strong feeling that grandfather is going to ask Emerl more about Black Doom. If only I knew what Black Doom might be! Deciding to figure that out right now, I turn and hurry towards my bedroom.

After tugging the door to my beautiful bedroom open, I step inside and shut the door behind me. Whenever I'm in my bedroom, I'm able to forget for a few moments that I'm actually in a research facility. Instead, it feels like I'm in an actual home with comforting posters hanging on the wall and fluffy blankets folded on the bed. Even though there's a little wooden chair in one corner of the room, I decide to sit on my bed instead and curl up under the silky sheets before looking around for the book I'm borrowing from grandfather.

The cover of the book is still layered with dust. Holding it over the side of the bed, I try to shake the dust and grime off of the ancient book and then return it to my lap. Flipping it open to the first page, I find that the pages are old and yellowish. They curl under my fingertips and feel so brittle that they might break in two when I try to turn the pages.

Doing my very best to be extremely careful with this book, I turn to the table of contents and search for something that might be related to Black Doom, whatever it may be. There are a lot of strange words I don't recognize under the table of contents. Grandfather was right when he said that his books might contain information that would be hard for me to understand.

After a quick scan of the table of contents, I find that the thing closest related to Black Doom is the section entitled "Dark Creatures and Where to Find Them". I hesitate before turning the crinkling pages of the book to the section I've just discovered. I hope I don't read about anything that will end up bothering me. In truth, I would never choose to read about anything dark or dangerous. The only reason I'm choosing to look up Black Doom is because I need to know why grandfather is having Emerl search for him. Perhaps grandfather is unaware that he might be trying to contact a sinister, supernatural being.

When I turn to the correct page of the book, I'm shocked to find that Black Doom is the first creature noted under the list of all the dark beings. Thankfully, there are no pictures of him so I'm left to imagine what this Black Doom might look like. I already know one thing though; Black Doom is a being, probably some kind of alien. Taking a deep breath, I decide to read on.

I quickly skim the few paragraphs on Black Doom, my eyes widening in fear and in horror as I realize what kind of creature my grandfather is trying to make contact with. I am immediately certain that my grandfather does not know about what Black Doom is capable of. From just the few paragraphs I read, I'm led to believe that Black Doom is the worst kind of monster that exists in the cosmos!

Horrified, I slam the book shut and toss it to the end of the bed as far away from me as possible. I eye it with distaste as I go over everything I just learned about Black Doom in my head. According to the book, Black Doom lives on the Black Comet and commands a devilish army called the Black Arms. The Black Comet passes by the earth every fifty years. Every time the comet passed by the earth, Black Doom did his best to create turmoil on the planet. It is said that his goals are destruction and the annihilation of mankind. Why on earth would grandfather want to contact such a creature?

I stare at my wall blankly, completely bewildered at the question pounding in the front of my head. My grandfather is a good man, I'm absolutely sure of that. It is so unlike him to try and make contact with a foreign, black-hearted beast such as this Black Doom. Perhaps grandfather is only trying to lure Black Doom here to defeat him. After all, we do have a bomb unit in this facility.

I try to convince myself that this must be the case, but it does me no good and I'm left with my stomach in knocks and with a very bad feeling from somewhere deep within me. I could explore the research facility for the rest of the day, but learning the ins and outs of the unknown rooms no longer sparks any interest inside me. I'm so troubled by the thought of Black Doom that I spend the rest of the day in my bedroom, staring at the wall in confusion.

Many hours later, there is a faint knock at my door. Figuring that it must be grandfather, I perk up and tear my eyes away from the wall to the door before calling, "Come in!"

The door opens soundlessly and grandfather steps inside with a sad smile on his face. I can tell from his frazzled mustache and from his pink cheeks that he's still a bit upset over the chaos with the biolizard from earlier. For this reason only, I decide not to ask grandfather about Black Doom. I don't want him to be any more upset than he already is.

"Hello Maria," grandfather greets me as he takes two steps inside my bedroom. "I'm very sorry I couldn't spend more time with you today. The failure of the biolizard was quite unexpected. How was the rest of your day? I hope you're still finding the research facility to your liking?"

"My day was just fine," I lie, not wanting to have grandfather worry about me. "I like my bedroom very much. It's even nicer than my one back at home."

"Well, perhaps we can redecorate your room once we return home," grandfather suggests, his firm tone of voice indicating that we _will _be returning home someday and that he will find a cure for my disease. "It's gotten quite late. Are you ready to retire for the night?"

"Yes, I think that is a good idea," I nod, not so much because I need rest, but because grandfather clearly does. His eyes are bloodshot and he looks exhausted.

Crossing the room to me, grandfather leans down and hugs me gently. I throw my arms around him and hug him tightly, hoping that he knows what dangerous things he's attempting to do. After a moment, grandfather pulls away from me and sends me a fond smile before exiting the room and calling, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, grandfather!" I reply as his shape disappears out the doorway.

Now that grandfather has left and I'm all alone, I try to decide what to do next. I could try and sleep, but I'm not really all that tired. Unfortunately, there's not much else to do and I don't feel like exploring any more today after my discovery about Black Doom. Who knows what other hidden secrets might be contained in this unknown facility? My joy at being in space has quickly dissolved and I realize that I will feel much safer once I've returned to earth. There will be no Black Doom to haunt me there.

Since nothing else seems of interest to me at the moment, I change out of my blue dress and pull my pink nightgown on. Next, I tumble into bed and bury my face in the fluffy pillow as if I'm trying to suffocate all the thoughts of Black Doom swirling around in my head. I know it's silly to let myself worry about this so much, but I'm scared for grandfather and the entire research facility. From what I read in the book, Black Doom is capable of many horrors and I don't doubt that he could easily destroy this facility with the flick of his fingers if he wanted to.

It takes me a long time to fall asleep and when I do actually fall into slumber, my dreams turn into nightmares. I dream of strange beasts with demonic red eyes and of low, sinister voices murmuring evil words in my ears. In the middle of the night, I wake up with a sweat breaking out across my forehead. Panting, I tell myself that what went through my head was only a dream and nothing more. I eventually fall asleep again, but my sleep is restless and I find myself waking up every hour or so.

When I finally decide that it's morning - I have no clocks to be able to tell if it actually is morning or not - I stretch my arms and crawl out of bed. I dress slowly and take my time brushing my hair. Exploring the research facility on my own no longer appeals to me. I don't want to discover any more dark secrets. It's better if they just stay in the dark.

Once my hair can't get any smoother, I decide to check on grandfather. However, just as I'm about to walk to the door, there's a hurried knock on the door followed by grandfather's urgent voice, "May I come in?"

"Yes, of course," I reply hastily, standing back from the door. When grandfather appears, he looks breathless and flustered. I run to him immediately and ask, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. There's no need to panic," grandfather quickly tries to reassure me. "It's just that Project Shadow appears to be moving along a bit more quickly than I expected it to. I really need to borrow your chaos emerald for a bit. Might that be possible?"

"You can have anything you need," I tell grandfather, obediently crossing the room to fetch my chaos emerald for him. It glints mysteriously in the lighting, making me wonder just what grandfather needs this emerald for. I certainly hope it has nothing to do with Black Doom. Hesitating at the thought of the devilish monster, I hand over the chaos emerald to my grandfather.

Grandfather's sharp eyes miss nothing as usual and he sends me a look of concern as he asks, "Are you alright? You look upset."

"Oh no, I'm fine," I reply quickly, trying to force a smile to my lips.

Normally, grandfather would press the matter, but he's clearly in a hurry, so he takes a few steps backwards and murmurs, "Thank you for the emerald. We will talk more very soon."

I nod, looking forwards to a heart-to-heart chat with grandfather. Even if I can't pluck up the courage to ask him about Black Doom, perhaps I can at least ask him about the idea he suggested to me earlier - the one about creating a friend for me. If grandfather has time to try and summon dark creatures to the facility, I think he should certainly have time enough to try and create a friend for me.

Not wanting to stay in my bedroom all day, I step out of my room and into the heart of the research facility. I'm about to do what I did yesterday and just choose a random door to explore when I notice that one door to my right is slightly ajar. Curious, I pad silently over to the door and peer within it. Nothing looks familiar in this room. Grandfather must have skipped over it when he was giving me a tour of the research facility yesterday. Was that on purpose or on accident?

Grandfather is currently standing within the room and so I don't dare enter it. Instead, I spy on him from the crack of the doorway. The room is very intricate and complicated-looking with grooves and different colored buttons all over the walls. There's a large, computer-like system in one corner of the room as well as other odd-shaped machines. It seems as if every strange machine in the room is linked or connected to a peculiar blue-tinted tank in the center of the room. I can detect a dark shadow located within it, but I'm too far away to tell just what lies inside the tank. Squinting my eyes, I try to get a better look, but still can't make out the shape of the dark blur within the tank.

As I toss around ideas of what could be in the tank, I suddenly realize that this must be the room containing Project Shadow. As I'm thinking all this, grandfather crosses the room, takes a deep breath, and then pushes a blood red button. He starts fiddling with his hands and I can tell that he's waiting for something to happen. I hold my breath and wait too.

Suddenly, a towering, black..._thing_ appears in the room. Flashing, crimson eyes stare down at grandfather from a dark head ending with two long horns. The dark creature is dressed in worn, ancient-looking robes with chains dangling from them. His hands and bony and his fingernails are curling and brittle. A soft gasp leaves my mouth as I realize this must be none other than Black Doom.

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_Review please? :)  
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	7. Darkness

**Hey guys! Thanks again for your support on this fic. I'm having a lot of fun writing it. I know I keep advertising, but if anyone else wants to check out my other Sonic fic, I wil be soooooo happy. Thanks! xD  
**

**Hero Memory: I hope he doesn't seem her either! Just seeing Black Doom is enough to scar someone for life, I think! Maria's life is certainly going to get a lot more interesting with Shadow around. I hope you like this chapter.  
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**Gloomy Shadows: Wow, you've got to be the first Black Doom fan that I've met! xD What do you like about him? I think he's a bit too evil for my tastes. I usually like dark characters and I absolutely adore Mephiles, but Black Doom just creeps me out, hehe. I hope you keep reading!  
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**EvilChalkboard: Oh my god, I totally agree with you! Black Doom really creeped me out too. I think it's his voice that's so freaky, you know? Oh no, well, after this chapter, you will no longer be on pins and needles. ;)  
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**Zgirl16: Hm, Shadow/Amy, huh? ;P I'm actually surprised how popular that pairing is on here! I support Shadouge a bit, but I've not given much thought to Shadow/Amy before. Heh, you're giving me ideas for more fics! I look forwards to reading your one shot. Let me know when you post it. Ah! I totally need that game! Is it really good? *plans to run out and buy it first thing tomorrow morning* And yeah, I've been sick/really stressed out lately. Thank you so much for the concern. It's so nice to hear that people care!  
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**xXxTwilightxXx: I'm glad to hear that! And ugh, I started a college course myself. It's stressful, isn't it? And yay for fellow Sonic fans! *high fives you* Who's your favorite Sonic character? Thanks so much for reading this!  
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**Charlotte: Hehe, let me know if you end up playing the Sonic game! That's the same wii game I have. It's a lot of fun! Do you have any favorite events on it? I like anything gymnastics related. Exactly! Well, I actually have the Little Mermaid fic all written out, I'm just too lazy to edit it. *facedesks* Do you ever get that feeling? I'm glad to hear that you've been well. I've been sick, but oh well. Shit happens. Shadow will make his first appearance in this chapter! Thanks for reading!  
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**Sister of the Pharaoh: Thank you very much! Here's another chapter. Hopefully, you'll find it even more exciting than the last one.  
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**WingedArcher1: Thanks! I try to make it suspenseful. ^^ I love Sonic Adventure 2 although I've never actually played it. What's Sonic Generations like?  
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**Alicia: Oh, it's okay. I know how that is. Maybe we can talk later tonight though? :)  
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**Suicuneluvr: Haha, I'll second that! Black Doom officially creeps me out. And now...all hail Shadow as he comes to life! :D  
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**LuluCalliope: Aw, that's so sweet of you and Chella. *hugs you both* I feel no awkwardness, lol. xD I'll take all the hugs I can get! Btw, I really missed you today. We'll have to make sure we get a chance to talk tomorrow. Thank you so much for your support!  
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**Chapter VII  
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I freeze in terror as I stare at the large, menacing figure of Black Doom as he towers above my grandfather. I want to call out to grandfather and tell him to run away from this vile creature, but my words seem to be frozen in my throat. After a moment of sheer horror, I realize that my feet are glued to the floor and I'm in such shock that I can't move even if I want to. Luckily, Black Doom has not noticed me yet and only has demonic red eyes for my grandfather.

"Why have you brought me here, you feeble human being?" Black Doom asks grandfather is a low, sinister voice that seems to reverberate throughout the Project Shadow room.

A chill runs down my spine as I wait to see what grandfather has to say to this horrible monster. Unlike me, grandfather doesn't seem to be frozen or insulted by Black Doom's remarks. Instead, grandfather pulls himself up to his full height and looks Black Doom in the eye as he states clearly, "I was hoping you could help me work on a project."

"A_ project_?" Black Doom scoffs, his face contorting even more as what appears to mirth crosses his face. The sickening sound of cruel laughter echoes around me as Black Doom turns patronizing eyes to my grandfather and asks, "Now why would I help a mere human with a project? How would I benefit from assisting you?"

If my legs hadn't turned to jello beneath me, I would have turned and run in the opposite direction of Black Doom as fast as possible. However, grandfather continues to hold his ground and speaks in a steady voice as he replies, "I am attempting to create an ultimate life form. This ultimate life form will be immortal."

"I already have immortality," Black Doom easily dismisses my grandfather, starting to look bored as he hovers in the air. Only now do I realize that he doesn't have feet or if he does, that they're covered by the tattered ends of his long, ornately decorated robes. Black Doom floats closer to grandfather, causing my heart to start pounding in my chest. I don't want that diabolical creature anywhere near my grandfather! Only inches from him now, Black Doom hisses, "You're going to have to offer me something much better if you want my assistance, mortal."

For the first time, I notice a flicker of fear on grandfather's face. Nonetheless, he does not back down and stares Black Doom right into his evil red eyes as he pleads, "Please help me with this project. It's to heal my granddaughter. She's been inflicted with the Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome. If I cannot find a way to cure here by means of studying this ultimate life form I intend to create, she will never be able to return to her home or else she will die there. Please help me. I will do anything for you."

My instincts scream at grandfather to stop! He cannot make a deal with Black Doom even for my sake! Unfortunately, my lips are still frozen and all I can do is stare helplessly as Black Doom looks interested for the first time. He tilts his head to one side and studies grandfather's expression. I can tell from the twisted smile crossing Black Doom's dark face that he's coming up with an evil plan. There's a wicked gleam in his eye as he starts to laugh that low, gravelly sound.

"You plan to make an ultimate life form?" Black Doom confirms. Grandfather nods quickly, his face lighting up. Black Doom continues on, "I suppose I could have use of this ultimate life form in the future. I believe that under this very rare circumstance, I am willing to make a deal with you mere mortal. Would you like to hear my terms?"

"Yes, of course. You may have anything that you want," grandfather speaks words that I feel should never be said to someone such as Black Doom.

"Very well. Listen carefully because I will only make you one offer. Refuse this offer and you have seem the last of me," Black Doom starts out in an ominous voice. "You are clearly aware of the seven chaos emeralds. I see you have three of them with you right now. If I possess all seven of those chaos emeralds, I will be able to do great things with them. In fifty years, the Black Comet will pass by the earth once more. I plan to invoke great disaster on that pathetic planet using the powers of the seven chaos emeralds. However, in order to do so, I will need all seven emeralds. When the time comes in fifty years, you will command your ultimate life form to fetch me the seven chaos emeralds. Do you understand?"

I stare wide-eyed from Black Doom to my grandfather. Yes, I understand that grandfather loves me more than anything, but I know that he will not accept this deal. No sane person would. It's clear that the fate of our planet will lie within Black Doom's gnarled hands if he is the owner of all seven chaos emeralds. Black Doom is clearly planning a great massacre and will wipe mankind off the face of the universe!

Grandfather's next words stun me as he nods curtly and says, "Very well. I accept your offer."

_ No! _How could grandfather do this? How can he put the entire universe at stake for my sake? I stare on in complete bewilderment as Black Doom chuckles and replies, "Good. Perhaps this will benefit us both although you seem to be willing to pay a great price for this granddaughter of yours. Humans have always been incompetent. It is not surprising to me that you would make such a foolish decision. I see that you have almost completed creating your ultimate life form. All you need is to give it life."

"You can do that, can't you?" grandfather presses.

"There is nothing I cannot do," Black Doom boasts arrogantly. He points one long, shriveled up black finger at the tank in the center of the room and commands, "Open the tank."

Grandfather moves for this first time since he spoke to Black Doom and steps over to one of the walls containing numerous buttons and other gadgets. Grandfather presses a forest green circle. A mechanical noise sounds as the lid on the tank is slowly tilted backwards, allowing Black Doom to peer into the tank with an unobstructed view.

What happens next makes my blood curdle. From out of seemingly nowhere, Black Doom conjures up a knife. The blade winks evilly at me from across the room. For a moment, I believe that Black Doom's deal with grandfather was all a lie. Black Doom merely wants to kill every human in his sight, which for now is grandfather! I try to force my feet to move. I plan to run into the room and throw myself in front of grandfather. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to him.

However, before I have a chance to go hurtling into the room, Black Doom raises the blade and slashes his own grimy arm. My insides churn and I feel as if I'm going to be sick. Three drops of crimson blood so dark that it appears to be black drip into the tank containing the ultimate life form.

Floating calmly away from the tank, Black Doom turns to my grandfather and commands, "Close the tank once more. With my blood, the ultimate life source will find life. He will be immortal just like myself. You must not forget to tell him of the payment he is to make to me in fifty year's time. If you fail to do this, well..."

Black Doom chuckles darkly, leaving his sentence unanswered. Grandfather nods and replies, "It will be one of the first things I tell him. Thank you."

Black Doom gives a succinct nod of his horned head and then dissolves before my very eyes. One second he's hovering before grandfather and the very next second he's gone. Now that there is no source of imminent danger lurking within the room, I find that I'm able to break out of my paralysis of fear.

Flying into the room, I bolt to grandfather's side and stare up at him, searching his eyes in confusion as I ask, "Grandfather, what have you done?"

Grandfather turns sad eyes to me and admits, "I did what had to be done, Maria. This is the only way to save you."

"But don't you see?" I ask hastily, imploring grandfather to see the immensity of what he's just done. "Black Doom will wipe humanity off the face of the earth! He's like the devil himself! I'm not worth the entire population. Please bring Black Doom here once more and break off the deal!"

"It cannot be broken. What is done is done," grandfather says grimly, looking sad, but not regretful in the least bit.

I'm speechless, unable to comprehend grandfather's strange logic for once in my life. Giving him a blank look, I persist, "You aren't really planning on helping Black Doom to annihilate the universe, are you?"

"No, I'm not," grandfather says immediately, making me feel just a tiny bit better. "No, I have a plan to destroy Black Doom. It needs refining, but in fifty year's time, I will not assist Black Doom in his plan for the ultimate destruction."

I take a shaky, reassuring breath. I should have known that grandfather had a plan all along. He's not going to let Black Doom destroy the universe after all. Still though, I feel a bit rattled after seeing Black Doom for the first time.

Sensing the turmoil in my head, grandfather wraps an arm around me and murmurs, "I'm very sorry that you had to witness all that, Maria. I meant to shut the door, but I must have forgotten to in my hurry."

"It's alright," I reply, starting to calm my frantically beating heart. For the first time since I started panicking, I feel curious. My focus turns to the tank in the center of the room. Its blue color is now lit up and the dark shadow of something about four feet call can be seen within it. Tilting my head to one side, I ask, "Grandfather, what is in there?"

"The ultimate life form or Project Shadow if you will," grandfather explains to me. "I decided to create him in the form of a hedgehog."

"A hedgehog?" I ask, rather perplexed at this queer concept. "Why a hedgehog?"

"You will see why very soon," grandfather tells me. A look of excitement crosses his face and he adds, "Would you like to help me bring Project Shadow to life?"

"Yes!" I nod fervently, pushing Black Doom to the back of my mind as excitement washes through me. "What can I do to help?"

"See this pentagonal yellow button?" grandfather asks, motioning to a button on the wall nearest me. I look over at the button and nod. Grandfather continues on, "Press the button and it will open the tank. However, if something goes wrong and I tell you to leave this room, you must do so at once. Will you promise me your obedience, Maria?"

"Of course, grandfather," I nod. "I would never disobey you."

"That's my girl," grandfather smiles kindly at me before excitement takes him over and he motions towards the yellow button frantically, murmuring, "Go on!"

Taking a deep breath, I reach forwards towards the yellow button, noticing for the first time that my hand is shaking. Wondering what I'm about to witness, I press the yellow button. A strange whirring sound starts up, breaking the tense silence in the room. It sounds as if an airplane is taking off as the door to the tank slowly rotates open. Abruptly, everything goes silent. Grandfather and I hold our breaths as we wait to see what will happen next.

After a long moment's pause, the dark figure within the tank takes a slow, hesitant step forwards. A pitch black hedgehog with a vibrant red streak running down the back of his head comes into view. The hedgehog appears to be about three and a half feet tall, is extremely slender, and has a little fluff of white fur just below his throat. He stares around himself with suspicious eyes, trying to take in his new surroundings as fast as possible.

I'm still holding my breath in wonder when the hedgehog turns his gaze directly onto me. The scarlet irises of his eyes meet my blue ones as he asks in a wary voice, "Who am I? _ Where_ am I?"

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_Review please? :)  
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	8. Beginnings

**I owe you guys a big apology for not updating this for so long. I got a bad case of writer's block since I started this story on a whim without any real pre-planning. However, I think I know where this story is going now, so you can expect more frequent updates from me. Please review if you think I should continue this story. Reviews mean the world to me. :)**

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**Chapter VIII**

A long silence follows the hedgehog's approach. Grandfather stares at his new creation in wonder, clearly shocked that his greatest experiment was successful. I'm a bit breathless as I take in the strange being before me. The hedgehog is unlike any other hedgehog I've ever seen before. He can talk and what's more is that he contains more human features than hedgehog features. I wait for grandfather to answer his question about his identity, but grandfather is too awestruck to say anything. Deciding that the hedgehog deserves an answer, I will myself to speak.

"Your name is Shadow," I tell the slightly wary creature as I take a step towards him. He eyes me dubiously, but doesn't edge away from me, which I decide is a good sign. Taking another slow step forwards, I offer the frightened hedgehog a warm smile and add in what I hope is a comforting voice, "Shadow the hedgehog. That's who you are."

Grandfather always called the creation of this hedgehog "Project Shadow", so I decide that the hedgehog's name must be Shadow. It seems to fit him considering the fact that he's mostly black besides for the few vibrant red streaks on his body and the little tuft of white fur just below his throat.

At my words, grandfather's lips curve down slightly as if in displeasure. Shadow seems to sense the mood change in my grandfather and flicks his sharp crimson eyes in grandfather's direction. Even I stop my slow ascent forwards and pause to send a questioning look in grandfather's direction.

Instead of looking at Shadow, grandfather turns to me and speaks his thoughts aloud, "Maria, dear, do you really think it best to name the thing? After all, you know what happened to the biolizard. Unfortunately, the biolizard was not my first failure. I've had some other projects go badly wrong as well. I just don't want you becoming too attached to this new experiment in case something goes awry. Although I believe I have closed all the loopholes, there is always a slight possibility that something I have not thought of could influence this project and turn it into another wreck."

Grandfather's words hit me hard and I rush to Shadow indignantly. Shadow stiffens, but doesn't move as I come to stand resolutely next to him. I'm appalled at the way grandfather is treating Shadow. He is acting as if Shadow is nothing more than one of his other mechanical creatures. I do not believe that grandfather means to be cruel, but Shadow is a living creature! He has feelings just like every human being. He can feel happiness, depression, hope, and despair. Right now, he's clearly doubtful of his new surroundings and the last thing he needs is for my grandfather to treat him like some unpredictable, inanimate object! What he really needs is someone to gently introduce him to this new world and reassure him that things are safe for him here.

"Grandfather, Shadow is our friend now. We must treat him like a member of our family," I tell my grandfather with a bit more conviction in my quiet voice than usual. Glancing over at Shadow, I send him another smile and reach out to take his large, white-gloved hand with my smaller pale one. Shadow's hand feels cool to the touch, but that's probably only because it's covered with the glove. Meeting his bright red eyes, I murmur, "It's alright. Holding hands means that we're friends now."

"Friends," Shadow repeats the word not as a question, but more as a statement that he wants to try out on his own tongue. After a moment's thought, he nods and says, "I like the sound of that. But just where are we? What is this place?"

I open my mouth to speak, but grandfather cuts me off, saying, "Maria, perhaps it's best for me to explain to Shadow how things are around here..."

"Oh no, it's alright. I don't mind explaining at all," I reply, which is most certainly true. I don't mind this in the least. In fact, I find having Shadow around very exciting! Unlike Emerl, the biolizard, or the artificial chaos, Shadow has thoughts and feelings. He could become a very good friend of mine in time. Turning back to the hedgehog, I choose my words carefully as I reply, "This is called the Space Colony ARK. It's like a research facility in the middle of space. It works as a life support system for me. You see, I have a disease that makes it impossible for me to live on earth. That's why grandfather created this research facility. It's a very nice place. I think you'll like it here. I can show you around later if you like."

Shadow blinks and I can almost see the wheels in his head turning around and around rapidly as he tries to take in all the information I've just given him. Nodding curtly, he tries to sum this up in as little words as possible and says, "So we're in a research facility in outer space. I see. This is all starting to make more sense now."

"That's great!" I tell Shadow with an encouraging smile. "In time, everything will make sense. You'll see! Would you like a tour of the facility now? It might help you get your bearings."

"Yes, I would like that very much," Shadow nods. Although he doesn't return my smile, I think he is pleased.

Unfortunately, someone else is not pleased. That someone else would be grandfather. Taking a step forwards, grandfather glances between Shadow and me and says, "I don't think now is such a good time for a grand tour. That would take lots of time and Shadow is new here. We don't want to overwhelm him now, do we?"

Grandfather has a point, but I was really looking forwards to the tour. Shadow must be too because he emphasizes, "I _want _to go on a tour. I want to know more about this place."

"See, grandfather?" I press. I usually don't try to pressure grandfather into anything, but I really want to spend some more time with Shadow. "Shadow wants to go on the tour. Please?"

Grandfather's face seemed cold and unmoved when Shadow spoke, but after my words, he sighs and seems to relent just a bit. After another moment of thought, he sighs and compromises with me, "Alright, Maria, you may have fifteen minutes to show Shadow around. At the end of fifteen minutes, I would like you both right back here. Is that clear?"

"But grandfather, fifteen minutes is not much time..." I point out, feeling a little disappointed.

"Maria," my grandfather replies in a firm tone which tells me that any more negotiating on my part will do me more harm than good.

Deciding to be grateful for my short fifteen minutes, I nod quickly and glance at the clock to figure out what time I need to be back here in the Project Shadow room before I tell grandfather obediently, "Yes, grandfather. Shadow and I will be back here in exactly fifteen minutes time."

Grandfather nods and tries to smile at me, but there is something a little off about his smile. There is clearly something bothering grandfather, but I'm not quite sure what it is. I will have to ask him about it next when we are alone. I am usually quite good at reading into grandfather's emotions, but this time, I am not sure what is on his mind. Is he still thinking about Black Doom? I highly doubt it. He honestly didn't seem all that concerned about Black Doom. Perhaps he is worried about Shadow? I just don't know.

Realizing that our time is ticking, I squeeze Shadow's hand slightly and start towards the door of the Project Shadow room. Shadow follow me along and matches his pace to mine as the two of us exit the room and step out into the heart of the research facility. As the metal door clangs shut behind us, I can still feel grandfather's eyes on our backs. Hm.

"There are so many rooms here. I wish I could show them all to you, but we don't have the time right now," I sigh, wishing that I could give Shadow the grand tour of the facility as I had suggested earlier. "What room shall we start with?"

Shadow glances up at me with vigilant eyes, but makes no comment. I realize why almost instantly. He knows absolutely nothing about the doors or the rooms behind them. It's up to me to decide where to take him first. I think of all the rooms and try to decide what one Shadow might find most interesting. There's the bomb unit, but of course I don't need to bring Shadow there. The artificial chaos rooms would simply add to his confusion right now. Later, I can show him Emerl, but I don't feel like now is the best time for that. What about the heal units? Those are interesting, but does Shadow_ really _need to see those rooms first? Perhaps not. Suddenly, the obvious room to show Shadow lights up in my head.

"I know! I'll show you my bedroom," I exclaim excitedly, pointing to the white door that distinguishes my room from the other rooms containing research projects and other operations.

Shadow easily keeps up with my quick steps as I practically run across the steel floor to the door of my bedroom. My feet make noisy thuds against the floor, but Shadow's sneakers make no noise as he swiftly runs next to me. How interesting. I would have expected him to make the same amount of noise against the floor as myself. This lack of sound makes me figure that Shadow must be very light on his feet and is probably a very fast runner.

Once we reach my bedroom, I hurriedly pull the door open and wave Shadow inside. He glances from left to right in an alert manner before he takes a few slow steps inside the room. I hurry in after him and shut the door. As soon as I have done this, I wonder if perhaps Shadow would prefer if I left it open?

"Should I open the door back up? Would you prefer that?" I ask Shadow, not wanting him to feel as if he's trapped inside this little room.

"No. I'm fine," Shadow says succinctly, clearly a creature of few words. He glances around the room quickly, taking in everything at once. Cautiously, he steps over to the bed and places a tentative hand on it as if he is afraid that it might bite him. "What's this?"

"It's called a bed," I explain, crossing the room to where Shadow is observing the bed. "People sleep on it when they're tired and need to rest. We can also use it to sit on. It's quite comfy."

I slide up onto the bed and sit cross-legged on it. Shadow watches me with no comment.

"You can sit on it if you like," I tell Shadow, wondering if he's waiting for an invitation.

"Alright," Shadow replies, joining me on the bed in a very swift motion. We sit side by side as Shadow continues to take everything in with questioning eyes. I can't even begin to imagine the chaos of emotions going through him head right now as he observes this new world. Shadow's eyes latch onto the book I borrowed from grandfather sitting on the bed. He points to it and asks, "What's this?"

"That's called a book," I inform Shadow helpfully. Reaching forwards, I pick up the book and open it. Pointing to the scrawling text, I explain, "You can read the words and gain knowledge about all kinds of things by reading them. Reading can be informative or it can be a means of pleasure."

Shadow peers over my shoulder and sends the words a blank look before he points out, "These strange markings...what do they mean? I do not understand them."

"Oh," I reply, suddenly realizing that Shadow must not be able to read. "I can explain them if you like. Would you like me to read to you?"

"Yes," Shadow nods curtly, crossing his legs and looking ready to obtain as much knowledge as possible from my words.

I read Shadow the prologue to the book I am borrowing from grandfather. Unfortunately, the prologue is rather boring. All it does is inform the reader of the purpose of the book and how to use it for greater knowledge. Shadow, however, seems to drink in my every word with fascination. Unlike me, he finds all of this extremely interesting.

Unfortunately, our fifteen minutes together goes by very quickly and before I know it, it is time for me to bring Shadow back to the Project Shadow room. Sighing glumly, I close the ancient book with a snap and set it carefully aside. The cover seems flimsy and I don't want grandfather's book to fall apart while it's in my possession.

Shadow gives me a confused look and questions, "Why did you stop? Keep going."

"I can't. I'm sorry, but my grandfather told me to lead you back to the room we were in earlier. I can't disobey him. Don't worry though. I can read more to you tomorrow if you would like that," I suggest.

Shadow nods and follows me as I slide off of the bed and go to the bedroom door. After it swings open, the two of us step back out into the main room of the research facility. Shadow automatically seems to grow rigid. I didn't notice it before, but he seemed to relax just a bit when we were together earlier in the bedroom. Now he seems more on guard.

I bring Shadow back to the Project Shadow room and crack the door open before stepping inside it with Shadow right behind me. Grandfather's forehead is creased and he appears to be pacing back and forth across the room as if he's troubled about something.

"Hello grandfather," I greet him, puzzled as to why he seems so worried. He should be celebrating the success of his most brilliant creation, not looking as if someone is dying! "Here we are."

"Ah, you're back," grandfather says, jerking upright and looking relieved. His eyes turn to Shadow although he speaks to me, "I would like to have a few words alone with Shadow. It's gotten rather late. Perhaps now would be a good time for you to go to bed?"

The very last thing on my mind right now is sleep, but I know better than to disobey grandfather. I take a few glum steps towards the door before pausing and looking over my shoulder at Shadow and grandfather. I wouldn't normally need to ask the question that's going through my head, but grandfather is acting so unpredictable right now.

"You aren't going to..._hurt him_, are you?" I question grandfather warily.

"Of course not, Maria," grandfather replies reassuringly. "I just want to speak to him alone. That's all."

"Alright then," I reply, feeling a bit better although I'm not one hundred percent relieved. Hesitating, I come to a halt and then suddenly turn and hurry back to Shadow. I put my arms around him in a gentle hug and say, "Goodnight, Shadow."

Shadow doesn't stiffen from the hug, but he seems a bit bewildered by it as he asks, "What's this?"

"It's called a hug," I explain to Shadow before withdrawing. "Do you like it?"

"I do," Shadow nods. "It creates a nice feeling."

"I agree. I love hugs. In this case, I shall give you another hug tomorrow," I tell Shadow before crossing the room and waving to him at the door, adding, "Goodnight!"

I exit the room and shut the door carefully behind me with no real intention of going to bed. Instead of going to my bedroom, I am going to eavesdrop outside the door and find out what grandfather is really up to!

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_Hm...what do you think Maria's grandfather is up to? Please review! :3_


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